As the use of high strength steels increases in automotive applications, there is a growing demand for steels of increased strength without sacrificing formability. Dual phase (DP) steels are a common choice because they provide a good balance of strength and ductility. As martensite volume fraction continues to increase in newly developed steels, increasing strength even further, ductility becomes a limiting factor. Silicon is an advantageous alloying element because it has been found to shift the strength-ductility curve up and to the right in DP steels. However, silicon forms oxides which can cause adhesion issues with zinc coatings, so there is pressure to minimize silicon content while achieving the required mechanical properties.
Thus, there is a need in the art for DP steels having an ultimate tensile strength greater than or equal to about 980 MPa and a total elongation of greater than or equal to about 15%.